Sunday, 29 November 2015

Good (But Not Great) Dinosaur

Tonight I watched Disney Pixar's The Good Dinosaur. The film looks visually stunning, but I'm sorry to report that I consider it one of Pixar's lesser offerings (although nowhere near Cars 2 level bad!).

The worlds within Pixar films are generally very rich and masterfully created. Look at Inside Out as the most recent example. It has a complex family dynamic, and juggles that with introducing the inner workings of the human mind, through a logic that (somehow!) makes perfect sense. In The Good Dinosaur, the film makers have been less successful at building their world. It feels very empty, and void of any life of its own. If your location is suppose to be a character in its own right, then aside from those stunning visuals, The Good Dinosaur comes out lacking.

In a strange turn of events, I think the 2nd half of the film is much, much stronger than the 1st. It really works when Arlo and his per human Spot have bonded. It suddenly becomes a greater story for it, and much more heartfelt. This is peculiar, as it's probably the only film this year where I thought things improved at the end!

All-in-all, there's enough emotion and funny moments in the latter half of the film for me to give The Good Dinosaur a pass. Good, but not great!

Anyway, on the way home I managed to capture this stunning picture of the moon, from the steps of Woolwich Dockyard train station:

I have two days off work beginning tomorrow. I plan on meeting a former staff member of mine tomorrow (weather permitting) and then doing some writing in the evening. I'll likely get around to watching Carol at some point too. Maybe even Bridge of Spies.

The other day I was discussing Fellow with Jack. I am absolutely, 100% determined to finish it by the end of 2015. There's no way I'm letting this drag on for longer than that!